Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Scenario:
Your school has been progressively making changes to promote an inclusive environment for all students. As part of these efforts, there is great interest from teachers to integrate culturally responsive pedagogy from a relevant, current, and collaborative approach.
You have taken a leadership role to draft a proposal for a schoolwide culturally responsive pedagogy and computing technology task force that will deepen culturally responsive experiences and awareness for students and enact systematic change. This proposal will be presented to the school’s administration. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Create a 1,000-1,250 word proposal that addresses the following:
Resources and strategies to involve and assist teachers in managing learning environments to actively and equitably engage students. Include at least two ways technology can be used to increase cultural responsiveness within the learning environment.
Methods for teachers to reflect on personal biases and access resources to deepen their own understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences. Describe how these methods will promote ethical practice, build stronger relationships, and create relevant learning experiences.
Strategies that foster collaboration between colleagues, organizational leadership, and the community to build a safe, positive learning climate of openness, mutual respect, support, and inquiry.
Support your findings with a minimum of three scholarly resources.
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Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies and professional standards:
MA Curriculum & Instruction
1.4: Manage the learning environment to actively and equitably engage students. [InTASC 3(d), 3(e), 3(f), 3(k), 3(n); MC2, MC3] Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
4.3: Reflect on personal biases and access resources to deepen understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to promote ethical practice, build stronger relationships, and create relevant learning experiences. [InTASC 4(q), 9(e), 9(m); MC2, MC5]
4.4: Collaborate with colleagues, organizational leadership, and the community to build a safe, positive learning climate of openness, mutual respect, support, and inquiry. [InTASC 3(a), 3(n), 10(c), 10(d); MC4]
Benchmark-Proposal for Family, Community, and School Collaboration and Involvement
Encouraging collaboration between teachers, families, communities, and learners is a profound strategy for creating a schoolwide culturally responsive pedagogy. According to Muniz (2019), a culturally responsive teaching approach challenges educators to recognize diversities and leverage them to create a conducive and effective learning environment. In the current learning environments, one of the overarching objectives of educators and school leadership is to collaborate with parents and other stakeholders in addressing disparities in access to quality education and structural discrimination against learners with disabilities and from ethnic minorities. As a result, creating a culturally sensitive pedagogy entails consolidating inputs from stakeholders and weaving together the rigor that encourages collaboration between families, communities, and schools (Muniz, 2019). While a culturally sensitive learning environment addresses inequalities and disparities in access to learning opportunities, this paper presents strategies for; (1), involving and assisting teachers to manage learning environments by incorporating new technologies, and (2) helping teachers to reflect on personal biases to deepen their understanding of cultural, ethnic, and learning differences, and (3) to foster collaboration between colleagues, organizational leadership, and the community. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Managing the Learning Environment to Actively and Adequately Engage Students by Using New Technologies
Undeniably, engaging learners in learning activities form the basis of managing a highly diverse learning environment. According to Cheng et al. (2021), schools are contemplating a rapid increase in ethnic and racial diversity due to the ongoing rigor of addressing causative factors for structural discrimination and limited access to learning opportunities among ethnic minority learners. For instance, Muniz (2019) argues that it is the first time in US history that students of color make up most students enrolled in US public schools. It is essential to note that although people from originally underserved communities can access learning opportunities, they still languish in under-resourced schools with limited access to high-level academic resources, compromised learning opportunities, and inadequate facilities. As a result, embracing the widespread use of emerging technologies can provide opportunities for involving students in learning activities regardless of the underlying barriers.
Undoubtedly, integrating technology when creating a culturally responsive learning environment provides multiple opportunities for addressing learning disparities and inequalities. Firstly, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) eases access to information and bridges barriers to culturally responsive teaching. According to Cheng et al. (2021), leveraging ICT in teaching activities creates interdependence, and enhances social skills, and collaboration between educators and students. In essence, new information and communication technologies broaden the scope of available resources and tools for developing a multicultural pedagogy. Also, these technologies enable teachers to understand students’ academic needs and bolster students’ engagement in learning activities. Eventually, these aspects can result in improved performance and more including learning environments. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Secondly, a technology-led school environment facilitates opportunities for creating digital learning communities. Clarke (2021) argues that online learning communities expand opportunities for teachers to communicate, reflect, and collaborate with other stakeholders, including students. In essence, digital learning communities provide platforms for multicultural interactions, enabling educators to improve their cultural competency to interact and collaborate with learners from different backgrounds and diversities.
Reflecting on Personal Biases to Deepen Understanding of Cultural, Ethnic, and Learning Differences
Undoubtedly, creating a culturally responsive pedagogy starts with individual transformation, where teachers reflect on their perceptions, attitudes, and biases that lead to discriminative behaviors and activities. According to Muniz (2019), it is possible to identify and address personal biases by implementing various strategies, including reflecting on one’s cultural lens and self-inquiry. These interventions enable educators to identify implicit and explicit biases that form the basis of their perceptions and perspectives regarding students.
Reflecting on One’s Cultural Perspectives
Often, teachers are susceptible to implicit biases that hinder the creation of a culturally responsive learning environment. These biases manifest because of interrelationships between lifestyle experiences and membership of various racial, ethnic, social, and gender groups (Muniz, 2019). Reflecting on one’s cultural lens emphasizes understanding sources of stereotypes and prejudices by having critical conversations to challenge the underlying mindsets and perceptions towards various groups. Teachers can use this strategy to develop cultural competency which entails understanding, sensitivity, and appreciating history, values, experiences, and other cultures’ lifestyles. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Self-Inquiry
Self-inequity in the context of creating a culturally responsive pedagogy entails asking critical questions that challenge the underlying perceptions, stereotypes, and biases. According to Starck et al. (2020), teachers are susceptible to implicit and explicit biases they are less conscious of, hindering their ability to facilitate racial equity despite their best intentions. As a result, conducting self-inquiry is essential in promoting self-regulation and cultural awareness. In essence, this strategy enables teachers to be conscious of the underlying perceptions and biases and embrace self-initiated measures for preventing discrimination and racism in schools.
Collaborating with Colleagues, Organizational Leadership, and the Community to Build a Culturally Responsive Learning Environment
Collaboration between and among education stakeholders such as teachers, organizational leadership, and community members entails a scenario of embracing team performance to work towards achieving a collective or shared vision (Solone et al., 2019). In the context of learning and teaching, stakeholder collaboration is an essential aspect of inclusivity and sharing resources, expertise, and responsibilities to address learning inequalities, as well as other multiple challenges facing culturally responsive pedagogy. Although multi-actor collaboration is essential in addressing various challenges facing schools and educators, it is complex to bring together all parties involved in creating a culturally responsive learning environment due to the underlying differences in options, statuses, and understanding. Therefore, teachers should emphasize the following strategies: Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Effective Communication
Effective communication between parties involved in creating a conducive learning environment is essential in establishing collective understanding and addressing the problem of information deficiencies. According to Solone et al. (2019), educators are responsible for embracing proper communication competencies, including timely information sharing, being honest, open, and straightforward when interacting with families, learners, and organizational leaders, and using appropriate communication models that value diversities.
Establishing Trust and Respect
Trust and respect are appropriate virtues for promoting collective understanding and improving relationships between education stakeholders such as teachers, learners, organizational leaders, and families. Solone et al. (2019) argue that trust entails reliability, ensuring information security and confidentiality, and providing impartial education services to learners. On the other hand, respect is about honoring diversities that manifest due to differences in ethnic backgrounds and cultural beliefs. Respect and trust are essential strategies for addressing educational inequalities and promoting collaboration between various parties. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
Developing Mutual Goals
Collaboration between education stakeholders cannot occur in absence of shared decisions, goals, and objectives. Although team members do not have to share all personal goals to effectively collaborate, they should have a consensus vision and goals that form the basis of their team cohesion (Solone et al., 2019). In essence, it is essential to accommodate different concepts and reflect on various beliefs, ideas, and strategies to build new team perspectives. When creating a culturally responsive learning environment, it is fundamental to encourage consensus decision-making processes to establish shared objectives of addressing barriers to conductive learning environments, including structural discrimination, resource limitations, and learning inequalities.
Conclusion
Creating a culturally responsive pedagogy is a profound strategy for ensuring inclusivity and equity in schools. In essence, this approach enables educators to respect cultural, gender, and ethnic diversities in classrooms and communities. As a result, it is significant for teachers to collaborate with other stakeholders in implementing consensus goals and pursuing a collective course of addressing barriers to the culturally responsive learning environment. Also, they should incorporate new technologies in involving learners in learning activities. Finally, educators are responsible for reflecting on their experiences, biases, and perceptions that downgrade their commitment to creating culturally responsive pedagogy and inclusive learning environments. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
References
Cheng, M.-M., Lacaste, A. V., Saranza, C., & Chuang, H.-H. (2021). Culturally responsive teaching in technology-supported learning environments in marine education for sustainable development. Sustainability, 13(24), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413922
Clarke, S. (2021). Learning communities in education: a matter of diverse definitions, understandings, enactments, and contexts. Professional Development in Education, 47(4), 557–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2021.1946744
Muñiz, J. (2019). Culturally responsive teaching: A 50-state survey of teaching standards (pp. 1–53). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594599.pdf
Solone, C. J., Thornton, B. E., Chiappe, J. C., Perez, C., Rearick, M. K., & Falvey, M. A. (2020). Creating collaborative schools in the United States: A review of best practices. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 12(3), 283–292. https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2020358222
Starck, J. G., Riddle, T., Sinclair, S., & Warikoo, N. (2020). Teachers are people too: Examining the racial bias of teachers compared to other American adults. Educational Researcher, 49(4), 273–284. Culturally Responsive Teaching Essay Paper
